PREP GIRLS LACROSSE: No stopping finals-bound La Costa Canyon

LA COSTA ---- The La Costa Canyon High girls lacrosse team took the field with a clear sense of purpose in the CIF San Diego Section Division I semifinals on Wednesday night.

"We just wanted to come and dominate and show everyone that we want to be the best team in this county," junior midfielder Kiki Gibson said. "We've worked so hard to be there."

Gibson and Caitlin Zirpolo scored four goals apiece and keyed a six-goal blitz in the first half that carried top-seeded La Costa Canyon to a 14-4 victory over Torrey Pines, sending the Mavericks to the section championship game.

La Costa Canyon (19-1) will meet Poway for the Division I title at 5 p.m. Saturday at Del Norte.

Fifth-seeded Torrey Pines (10-7) lost to the Mavericks twice during the regular season and found itself reeling after a 1-0 deficit expanded to 5-0 in a 5-minute, 26-second stretch of the first half.

Zirpolo's second goal, off a nifty feed from Kyleigh Westgarth, made it 6-0 with 8:25 to play in the first half.

"Taking nothing away from them," Gibson said, "I think that our team just started on fire. That's how we came out. We beat them twice this season already, but that meant nothing to us, because of what an amazing team they are. We came out with just a huge fire under our behinds."

Six players scored in the first half, paced by Gibson's three tallies, and La Costa Canyon had a 9-1 lead at intermission that would have had most teams folding their tents. Not Torrey Pines.

The Falcons won the draw to start the second half and got a goal from sophomore midfielder Camille Doan at 22:01 to make it 9-2. Then Kacey McKinnon scored from behind the net to make it 9-3, and Doan scored again off a free position play and it was 9-4 less than eight minutes in.

"That's the first time we've had to take a timeout like that," Rector said, "to kind of calm us down and get our gears going again. And it was all about the draw. They came up with the draw and they scored every single time. All I said was, 'You guys have got to answer back. You have to come up with the draw, and then you score. That's how it goes.' "

Gibson notched her fourth goal shortly after the timeout. And, as per orders, La Costa Canyon won the next draw and Zirpolo raced down the field to score again at the 15:17 mark. Two minutes after the hasty timeout, the lead was back up to 11-4.

"We just kind of said we need to come together, reorganize, change our mindset, pull through," said Savannah Boyne, who finished with two goals and an assist.

As the play became more wide-open in the final 12 minutes ---- with La Costa Canyon comfortably ahead ---- junior goalie Paige Soenksen stepped up. She made four of her nine saves during that span to keep Torrey Pines, the defending Division I section champion, at bay.

"We are 24 strong, 26 with our coaches," Gibson said. "And I mean we trust in every single person on our team, on the field, or on the sideline who comes in. We will pass to everyone. We will know that everyone will do their job out there on the field."